Graham Chapman

Graham is a descendant of a Flinders area pioneering family, with his grandfather having worked at the Blinman and Yudnamutana copper mines.  Later the family resided at Farina and ran the Post Office from the 1934 through to it closing in 1961.  Graham has grown up with a special affinity for the whole Flinders Ranges area having toured and camped throughout the region for many years.

Since retiring in July, 2007 from the accounting profession, Graham has been painting full time with a strong passion for Flinders Ranges landscapes.  He mainly paints in oils, sometimes using a palette knife to highlight the ruggedness of the rocks and mountains and the roughness of the bark in the trunks of gum trees, so unique to the Flinders.  Acrylics are also used by Graham when painting insects, birds and man-made objects such as buildings.

Graham continues to be fascinated by the colours which can be observed throughout the Flinders, which constantly change during the daylight hours.  He loves the contrasts of the blues and purples of the Wilpena ranges with the reds and tans of the stark granites of the Arkaroola area in the Northern Flinders.  A feature of Graham’s work is the effectiveness he gets by painting similar scenes, such as the Wilpena mountains viewed from Bunyeroo Valley, in different hues to reflect light at varying times of the day.

Demand for Graham’s work has been strong, including a significant number of commissions. His work is held in private collections all over Australia and also in England.

Graham has been a regular participant in exhibitions throughout South Australia over many years.  In 1994 he was awarded the Laura Art Prize with his Golden Orb spider painting entitled, “Poised Arachnid”.  He won the People’s Choice Award in the Port Pirie Inaugural Art Prize in 1996 and again in 2013.  He was also the winner of the Crystal Brook Show Oil/Acrylic Landscape section in years 2011 and 2012, the Seascape Section in 2013 and winner of Best Exhibit of the Crystal Brook Show Oil/acrylic Bird or Animal Study in year 2012.  Commendations were received by Graham in the SA Regional Artist section of the Port Pirie Art Prize in year 2000 and at the Clare 2012 Rotary Art Exhibition.  A Merit Award for “commendable excellence” was received at Hummock Hill, Whyalla, 2012 Art Prize.